Si-o-se Pol (2015)

A Masterpiece!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

What one terminally-ill man would do to see his daughter again for possibly the last time will leave you in awe as he goes through different challenging stages in search of her, stretching out his last remaining days. As the story unfolds, Pravis Karimpour, the protagonist, will have you bracing in your seats as you wonder how things will play out for him given these challenges: 1) he is an "illegal" alien; 2) he is hungry and unemployed; and 3) he is awaiting his impending demise. He meets and befriends two strangers going through their own struggles and they become unlikely friends who aid him in his quest to search for his long-lost daughter. Si-o-Se Pol is a nice and engaging film that develops at a slow pace, but it is not dreary. The film teaches you that in the face of what would be a brush of desperation, it is best to look past the differences of others and work towards a goal together. It shows a perspective of humanity from a different angle. The beautiful cinematography, some few heart-wrenching scenes, overall story development and enthralling performance of the actors is what makes Si-o-Se Pol a world-class drama film that is definitely worth watching.

"Si-o-se Pol" or "Die letzten Tage des Parvis K." is even if the original title does not suggest it a German movie from 2013, so this one will have its 5th anniversary next year already. It includes a lot of languages because of the characters' origins and the countries where the film is set, so chances are high you may want a good set of subtitles unless you are a truly multilingual talent. It is the most recent work and fourth full feature film written and directed by Henrik Peschel and he takes on a subject that is today probably even more prominent in media and society than it was back in 2013, namely the fate of refugees and immigrants. The central character of it all is Parvis and the German title already gives away that things are not going too well for him health-wise, so this is not a film where the audiences wonders if he will live or die and can cheer for him making it, but his fate is somewhat sealed right from the start. Instead the focus is on the way he spends his last days and these are all about finding his daughter and reconnecting with her. And it is at least as much about two characters he meets on the way, an Italian cleaner with musical talent and a German woman who left her home to move abroad with her boyfriend and who follows her own dream. The latter is played by Pheline Roggan and she is the only cast member I know in here (probably because she is also the only German in here and these are the ones I usually know) and also the main reason why this film lists German as its central language here on IMDb.I think this relatively short movie (slightly over 80 minutes and this already includes credits) is a fairly solid road movie that feels real and authentic for the most part. The actors did a fine job and I never had the impression that I was watching performance. Instead they feel like real people. This is not a film that gives any of the actors loud and baity material to work with and really carry the film with the material, but it's more of a quiet subtle character story for everybody involved and from that perspective it is working. The goal is not him finding his daughter (at least not for the audience). The goal is the journey there. I think the film started off a bit rocky and for example I struggled a bit with the way the protagonist met these two other characters and it did not really seem they were getting as close as they did, but the longer the film went the more it all made sense and he really formed a union with these. The dialogues are simple, but real and the film also delivers in terms of the visual side at the very end when it comes to the mountainside and the meaning that is attached to it for the two make central characters. I must say I enjoyed the watch for the most part and even if something is missing for me to say it is one of my favorite films from 2013, I'd give it a thumbs-up and recommend checking it out. Looking at the number of ratings here on IMDb, it is also certainly a truly overlooked and underseen movie. If you get a chance to change that, i.e. get a hand on a copy, don't miss out. You won't regret it.

I first saw Si-o-se Pol at a screening during the 2014 Marbella (Spain) International Film Festival, which was followed by an illuminating discussion led by writer/director/co- producer, Henrik Peschel.The film is brilliantly lit, movingly acted, and engaging throughout. As others have suggested, Si-o-se Pol is a reminder of why cinephiles go to see independent films in dark rooms rather than on screens the size of one's hand. It is beautiful to look at, yet tells a story worth telling and tells it well without visual gimmicks or tricks. Si-o-se Pol tells the story of Parvis, a seemingly insignificant Iranian man-- "an illegal" as he is called-- whose love for his daughter and dream to be reunited and reconciled with her raise him to a position of nobility, inspiring two chance acquaintances to place their own mundane existences on hold to help him. His dream becomes their dream. (This theme is so beautifully captured by the imagery of Parvis conducting his own symphony midway through the film!)Hollywood could not make such a film for a 1,000 times the money which Si-o-se Pol cost, and rarely tries. If you enjoy cinema with a good story told through the magic of the camera, the light, and the actors, you will be enchanted by Si-o-se Pol. It is a marvelous tribute to the dream of its protagonist and the dreams of independent filmmakers determined to bring him to life!

When I saw the title of this film, "Si-o-se Pol", I had absolutely no idea what that meant and in the course of the film you learn that this is an old an apparently very picturesque bridge in Iran. It really has little to do with the film's plot--just a memory of one of the characters about a lovely place he remembers from his youth.The film begins in North Africa. A small group of people are being smuggled into Spain. One of them, Parvis, is looking for his daughter. Apparently, they haven't seen each other for over a decade and he's left Iran to look for her. This search is imperative, as Parvis is dying and wants to make peace with her before his death--what's transpired between them is something you'll need to find out through the course of the movie. Once he's made it to Madrid, the last town that he knows she was in, he begins searching for her. But it's a big town and the clues he has are scant. He's also hungry and out of work, so his search seems hopeless. Along the way, this very decent man meets a couple people and they become his friends--and they agree to help him in his search.This is a very nice, gentle sort of a film. It's slow paced, but it doesn't drag--mostly because the characters are quite likable. The actors, writer and director can be credited for this. Additionally, there is an interesting contrast between Parvis and his incredible journey and his two friends whose own troubles and conflicts seem rather simple by comparison. Well worth seeing even if it doesn't have a formulaic ending that some might expect and demand. I like it because it was a nice look into three very disparate personalities--three who manage to trust and care about each other through the course of this engaging film. Well worth seeing.